| Scope and method of study. A telephone survey was conducted with Oklahoma farmers and ranchers concerning their perceptions and concepts of alternative agricultural enterprises. This study included two groups. The first group, the random sample group, included 383 farmers and ranchers stratified proportionally in four districts, in order to be able to generalize the findings statewide and to provide information from traditional producers about encouraging and discouraging factors for trying alternative agricultural enterprises. The second group, the alternative agriculture group, included farmers and ranchers that were identified as being involved in some type of alternative agricultural enterprise. The study was intended to provide information regarding: (1) interest and/or involvement in alternative agricultural enterprises by Oklahoma producers; (2) types of alternative enterprises Oklahoma producers have adopted; (3) profitability of enterprises as rated by Oklahoma alternative agricultural producers; (4) factors that encouraged or discouraged adoption of alternative agricultural enterprises; (5) information sources used by farmers and ranchers and the rated effectiveness of these sources; and (6) demographic information about the two groups in the study.;Findings and conclusions. Oklahoma farmers and ranchers had a high interest or involvement in alternative agricultural enterprises in all areas. Enterprises most often identified were: tomatoes, sweet corn, squash, okra, green beans, cucumbers, peppers, peaches, watermelons, cantaloupe, apples, strawberries, pecans, Christmas trees, Angora goats, and catfish. Those enterprises rated most profitable were mushrooms, sesame, trout, alligators, emu, dogs and feed production. The genuine desire to produce the commodity and high potential for profit were the encouraging factors most often mentioned. Most often noted as discouraging factors were high start up costs and markets. Cooperative Extension Fact Sheets and other farmers were the information sources most often used by adopters. The alternative agricultural group had an average of 2.7 alternative agricultural enterprises per producer. |
